Gordon and Belle
by Marshal Davout
Summary: How Sodor's least friendly steamie met the love of his life. Rated T for words you'd expect George Carlin to say
1. How Gordon met Belle

Once, there was an engine. He was big, he was best, he pulled the express-but deep down he felt lonely. Of course, he hid it deep down under a facade of rudeness, pompousness, and bravado. He played tricks on smaller engines with James to mask it. He yelled insults and profanity at engines he passed to hide it. He sped down the lines to forget it. Nobody ever suspected he was lonely, except maybe Henry.

One day, Gordon had to take some building material from Brendam docks up to Arlesburgh, where the portal of the new Isle of Man-Sodor tunnel was to be. "O, the indignity," he said as he coupled up to the goods train. On his way back, he saw an Engine. She was vivacious, with a Prussian Blue coat, a wheel configuration much like his, and the most beautiful voice and accent he's ever heard. It had some London in it, a wee bit of West Country, and just enough American. Gordon no longer complained about carrying Cargo to the docks just because it meant he could see her.

On his 5th run, he was stopped at a signal. She was parked next to him in a siding, so he started a conversation

"Hi," he said nervously "I'm Gordon"

"I'm Belle" she answered, "I've heard all about you. Is it true that you are the fastest engine on the Island?"

"Why yes" Gordon answered, slightly less nervous now "I am. Sir Nigel Gresley saw to that when he built me."

"I was designed by William Stanier," Belle said, "but I hope that won't get in the way of our Friendship"

"Of course it won't" Gordon responded, "We can't afford to cling onto those rivalries, with so few of us left around. And besides, not all Gresleys are great"

"What do you mean?" inquired Belle

"I'm referring to my cousin Spencer" Gordon responded "He's stuck up, foolish, and always causes mayhem"

"Well, that's a shame" she said "at least you're pretty nice"

Gordon became redder than James, when conveniently the signal changed color

"Well, I must go now, goodbye Belle!"

That night, Gordon was the talk of the sheds.

"He's in love, is it with Emily" snickered James

"I'm essentially his grandmother" answered Emily (Stirling Singles-Ivatt Atlantics-Gresley Pacifics)

"Of course not" said Henry "Fat Gordon can only fall in love with another fat Engine"

"But who?" Thomas asked

"I wouldn't know" answered Henry.

Gordon, thankfully, was in Vicarstown.

The next day, the Fat Controller had Gordon and Belle work together on the new Arlesburgh station. As the largest tank engine, she was fit to work there. Gordon was with Rocky, who was laying pantograph lines and other large objects, and Murdoch pulled supplies in from Brendam Docks. Henry also came in the morning with a large train from the mainland.

As Gordon and Belle worked, they became closer, and Rocky and Murdoch's lives became more awkward.

"So," said Belle, in a very sultry voice, "what do you like to do with your time?"

"Pull coaches, impress people, and mostly be with you" answered Gordon, trying his best to speak coherently

Around 6pm, their work was done. Belle went out, turned around, and rolled straight up to Gorodn's buffers, before consuming him in a passionate kiss. Then, he began to move her.

"I'm going to show you my favorite part of the Island" he said.

Belle, having occupied herself with ogling Gordon, lost all track of where she was. Eventually, Gordon stopped. She looked around and saw the ruins of the real old Great Waterton.

"The track here is derelict, and was poorly-laid to begin with. The one Thomas "found" was actually an elaborate ploy for his birthday. Don't tell him, but that one was made by a holoprojector we got off a weird wreck"

"It's beautiful" exclaimed Belle, before almost going off the tracks "and dangerous as fuck"

"I know" said Gordon. "I never told anyone because Thomas will inevitably get the credit when everyone believes the birthday reel wasn't a sham."

The two engines returned home


	2. The Separation

All good things must come to an end, and Belle's time working with Gordon was no exception. Despite owning both the Search and Rescue Center and the Railway, and rarely giving any shits about separating his companies, the Fat Controller sent Belle back to the S&R and Gordon to his Express. Gordon returned back to his old ways, which everyone previously believed to have stopped. He even considered going into a ditch again so he could pull trucks and meet Belle.

One evening, the turntable at Tidmouth was jammed after some trucks forced their way in while trying to avenge S.C. Ruffey again. Without hesitation, Gordon ran to the Search and Rescue Center. He shared Belle's one-stall shed for 2 nights, but it was not to be. When the turntable was fixed, he reluctantly came back, grumpier than ever.

For Belle, it was even worse. When no disasters were going on, she had nothing to do. She was alone with Flynn the fire engine, and he was too busy bro-ing it up with Rocky most of the time. She wished she was a normal railway engine, but it was not to be.


	3. An Accident, and a Reunion

Of all the engines, Thomas was the cheekiest. Perhaps it was to compensate for his short, stumpy boiler. Perhaps it was because he felt a need to prove himself. In any case, he made fun of Gordon very often.

"Wake up, lazybones!"

"Shut up, fatass!"

"Your funnel is shorter!"

"Imperialist Pig!"

All these classic Thomas insults bounced around Gordon's head as he pulled the Express in at Knapford, when he saw Thomas speeding along with some Gasoline tank cars. Gordon was worried, but not too much.

"Boys will be boys," he muttered, and went off to his siding.

Thomas was enjoying his speed, chanting about how he was "faster than Gordon." He sped through Wellsworth, as the cars made a plan. They let him climb Gordon's hill, but pushed Hard as he came down. Thomas braked and fought, but they were so heavy. He huffed and he puffed, but could not take control. Soon Enough, Thomas flew off the rails and into a tree. This set sparks out of his firebox, which hit a gas car, which caught fire. Soon, there was fire all around Thomas, and his boiler was taking damage.

After getting the news, Belle rushed as fast as she could, knowing that this was a rare moment. She dashed over, got to the position, and sprayed Water. Soon enough, the fire was out and Thomas was safe, although confused and badly needing repairs.

The Fat Controller was quick to arrive.

"Thomas," he boomed, "you have caused confusion and delay. After you return, you will shunt freight cars until you prove yourself to be really useful."

"And you, Belle," he continued, "you are a really useful engine indeed. You will operate Thomas's line. After that, I will find you a job working with Gordon. It will do you both good."

"Thank you, sir." said Belle

"So you're his secret love…" snickered Thomas as he was lifted onto a flat bed

"Next time I won't hurry as much to rescue you," whispered the larger Tank Engine.

That night, Belle told Gordon all about it at Tidmouth sheds, which made him a very happy Engine indeed.


	4. Being Together

That next morning, Gordon woke up early. He took Belle, and they went to the Yard.

"Why so early?" she inquired.

"I have the express to pull, so we don't have another time for love," he said, his voice gentle instead of the usual gruffness

"Ooh" she said

Then, he turned around, coupled to her, and backed with her into a siding.

"I love that sexy shape your firebox has" she whispered

"I love how your tanks frame your exquisite boiler," he responded

"You have a nice taste, like the sea, with some musk, and something I don't have a word for"

"You taste like the mist, and hot peppers"

Suddenly, Percy rolled in.

"So that's who you're into!" he yelled, before getting Gordon's coaches ready.

Belle got Annie and Clarabel, and waited beside Gordon for Percy.

When Percy came, they parted, but they didn't cry since it was only for a couple of hours.

As the days went by, Gordon and Belle continued to enjoy themselves. Then, Thomas returned. The Fat Controller summoned both Belle and Gordon.

"Belle," he boomed, "I'm basing you at Vicarstown. You will run the Notlob line. It's a silly place, with dead parrots and gangs of young men dressed as old ladies, but you'll survive it.

"Gordon," he continued, "I will base you at Vicarstown as well, so you can run the early morning express back from the mainland."

"Thank you, sir!" both exclaimed.

As the two big engines moved to Vicarstown, they were pleased.

"We have a 2-stall shed for ourselves" gasped Belle.

"Plenty of Tracks to do it properly on" said Gordon, his mind being extra-dirty.

"There're shiny new coaches for me" exclaimed Belle

"This is definitely the Shed with the best view out there" announced Gordon

The two big Engines settled into their routines. Sometimes Belle would tack on to the Express up to Barrow, and sometimes Gordon went with Belle to Notlob, but mostly they were happy with sharing the sheds at Vicarstown. It was all their own, with no pesky little Tank Engines to bother them.

 _Nota Bene: Notlob is a joke from "Monty Python's Flying Circus"_


	5. Settling down, and Thomas again

**I addressed the fact that Belle is not a Stanier, which IeuR kindly pointed out.**

As their relationship matured, Gordon and Belle became more open. Belle confessed to being a Riddles design and not a Stanier one, to which Gordon answered that it "doesn't really matter" to him. Gordon manned up and told her about that time he rolled in a ditch, and the various ways he tricked Thomas over the years. Belle was actually amused by this, especially the one where Gordon got Thomas to "steal" his freight train.

One day, Thomas came by. He wasn't supposed to, but he had stolen BoCo's Slate Train. Thomas was heading for the Vicarstown Bridge, but he didn't realize the signal was down. It was down because the bridge was raised to allow a ship through. By the time Thomas realized what was happening, the trucks did too, so they pushed him on, and he ran up the raised Bridge.

"Oh no," screamed Thomas, "I shall die here. Help! Help! Help me!"

Belle headed out of the shed, and managed to grab the last truck, thus holding Thomas hanging above Water. Soon, Gordon joined her. They could hold Thomas, but they knew that any attempt to pull the train to safety will snap a truck.

Eventually, the trucks were anchored properly, and train traffic was somewhat restored (Bear took half the express to Brendam to continue on by sea to Liverpool, and Gordon took the other half to Vicarstown), but Thomas continued to hang all day while a plan was devised.

Eventually, it was decided that a truck would intentionally be broken, allowing Thomas to freefall into a waiting barge carrying fertilizer. The fertilizer would cushion the fall. After that, the barge will unload him at Brendam Docks, and he would be pulled by Murdoch to the works. As the matter unfolded, the plan worked well, and also fast. The bridge was cleared in time for Gordon to take the whole Evening Express to Barrow.


	6. The Discovery is Revealed

After Thomas's gaffe, he was even deeper in disgrace. It was announced to all that he did not in fact discover Great Waterton. He had his branch line taken away for an indeterminate but long timeframe, with Rosie taking over his duties and him returning to the shunt at Knapford. This presented Gordon and Belle with a chance to reveal their discovery. So a week after Thomas came into his predicament, Gordon rang up the Fat Controller, telling him he has found something. Gordon and Belle then took Fatty along Belle's line, up to the station where the archaeological digs of the 10th century town were, and then down an overgrown, rickety old track. They stopped at the station of the actual town, which was mostly burned down by a German WWI air raid. The Station itself survived the fire, but it was falling apart. Out of the 5 tracks, only 3 were intact, and 1 of these was covered with brush. The footbridge was covered in large vines. The station building was missing bricks and filled with Rat Excrement. The once-proud Waterworks stood crumbling, charred, and covered in tall grasses. The engine shed, having been abandoned after the raid, had collapsed upon itself after a long-forgotten past storm and lay shattered in pieces. The carriage shed was home to a family of rabbits, but still contained some coaches. Not that it mattered much given the fact that the track leading to it had a bomb crater in it. The old railway office had plummeted when the station roof gave way to the bombs, and now was nonexistent. The former track towards Crovan's, which was never completed, was irretrievably destroyed, as it ran over a viaduct that was since destroyed by time and weather.

"We shall commence the restoration of this spur immediately!" Fatty boomed, "Gordon, Bear will run the afternoon and nighttime expresses so you can work with Belle on the construction. Belle, I'll have BoCo help out on your line."

"We'll get this done, sir!" They said in unison.

As the days progressed, the line did too. They used a lawnmower attached to a flatbed to clear the tracks. New tracks were lowered into place and ballasted. The carriage shed was connected to the trucks, and its old coaches were loaded on flatbeds and taken for restoration at the works. The old platform area was dug up, and a new hall constructed underneath to allow easy access from both sides. While only one island platform was to be retained, the site would not need much beyond that, seeing as it was not a city anymore. The old station building was to be converted into a museum, with the new one processing passengers. The old engine shed was written off, as was the old, undersized turntable. A new engine shed with 2 stalls, and a long turntable, were built. Soon, the grand opening (the real one) happened.

"I am pleased to announce," boomed the Fat Controller, "that through the efforts of Gordon and Belle, we have restored access to the 19th-century Great Waterton. For real this time!"

All those present cheered loudly, and the two engines were very proud.


	7. The End

Now, Belle uses the restored old coaches for her run, and sometimes stops at the old City. Gordon's Express route doesn't go that far, but there is a weekly service from Liverpool that he hauls into Great Waterton. And although most of their nights are spent at the romantic seaside sheds of Vicarstown, they occasionally choose to sleep in the Great Waterton sheds.


End file.
